Reclining chair



y 1962 R. M. GALLOWAY 3,036,861

RECLINING CHAIR Filed March 30, 1960 #4406 M d/oway IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent 3,036,861 RECLINING CHAIR Ralph M. Galloway, 601 S. Audubon Ave., Tampa, Fla. Filed Mar. 30, 1960, Ser. No. 18,659 Claims. (Cl. 297-355) This invention relates to reclining chairs and is more particularly concerned with mechanism for adjusting the inclination of chair backs and for retaining the back in its adjusted position.

For generations, lounge, club, overstuffed and Morris type chairs have been provided with means for selectively positioning the angularity of the back with respect to the plane of the seat. The mechanical means for effecting such adjustment and securement have been many and various. With the advent of contemporary designs in the Scandinavian motif utilizing molded plywood, difiiculties have been encountered in providing suitable and adequate means for such adjustment and securement. Mechanisms heretofore appropriate for the more massive structures of earlier bulky design have proven unsuitable mechanically as Well as aesthetically for use with the modern thin plywood structures and are out of harmony with the clean, austere lines of modern styling. In conformity with the simple motif of present designs, it has been found desirable to provide mechanical mechanism of streamlined simplicity, both in appearance and in operation. While many of the older adjusting mechanisms were both complicated and unsightly by virtue of their providing multiple stages of angular adjustment, it has been found that a simple two-Way adjustment is adequate for the comfort of the user and in harmony with the simplicity of decor. It has also been found that maximum simplicity as well as economy in manufacture may be secured by the use of a simple two position supporting bar. It has further been found that a simple slotted bracket secured to the back of the seat may suflice for automatically locating the supporting bar, in either one of two selected positions controlling the two selected angular positions of the back member.

By this arrangement, as illustrated in the following specification and drawings, the present invention provides back adjustment with a minimum of parts and an aesthetically gracious appearance conforming with the design of the chair and one rigid and secure in operation as well as easily manipulated and well designed to meet the demands of economic manufacture. It is, therefore, among the principal objects of the present invention to provide a novel, simple and improved reclining chair. A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustment and supporting mechanism for a pivoted chair back which will be simple in construction and design, aesthetically attractive and well designed to meet the demands of economic manufacture. Numerous other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a chair formed in accordance with the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a rear elevation of the chair shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section of the back showing the adusting and supporting mechanism in the position shown in FIGURE 1 With the reclined position indicated by the dotted lines, and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation illustrating one side of the mounting of the supporting bracket with the back in erect position.

In FIGURES 1 and 2, the present invention is illustrated as applied to a contemporary lounge chair, constructed and designed in the modern Scandinavian motif.

3,035,861 Patented May 29, 1962 It will, of course, be understood that the invention is in no way limited nor confined in its application to this type of chair. However, the invention is most admirably designed for this application in view of its simplicity of construction and appearance which blends both in function and appearance with the function and appearance of this type of furniture.

The total chair of the present invention consists in a circular pedestal 1t), raising conically from the supporting surface to meet a companion inverted conical member 11 fixed to the underside of the chair seat. In practice, the member 11 is mounted for swivel movement with respect to the base 1% and in combination with the base 10, the member 11 presents an hourglass appearance of extraordinary design and one blending perfectly with the type of chair depicted. The seat portion of the chair is here shown as formed of a transversely U-shaped molded plywood piece 12 and the sides of the seat portion present upper edges suitably upholstered to provide arm rests 13, while the seat cushion 14 rests upon the slightly rearwardly inclined intermediate portion between the sides. The upper edges extend substantially parallel, terminating at the rear in open side edges 15. The back member 16 is also preferably formed of molded plywood and includes an upwardly extended and curved portion 17 adapted to receive the users head when the back is pivoted to reclining position. The lower, more restricted portion 18 of the back fits between the edges 15 and is hingedly joined as at 19 to the seat portion. As noted from FIGURE 3, the terminal angle at the lower edge of the back portion 18 is such as to permit limited rearward pivotal movement of the back from the erect positions of FIGURES l and 3 to the reclining position shown by the dotted lines of FIG. 3.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the back 16 is pivotally secured to the rear central area of the seat portion for hinged movement about the axis of the hinge 19. For supporting and retaining the back in its adjusted position, there is provided a transverse supporting bar 20 passing through retention clips 21 and provided at each end with rigidly secured pivot arms 22. The outer free ends of the arms 22 are pivotally mounted on pintles 23 extending inwardly from the wings 15. Each of the clips 21 are provided with a slot 24 characterized by an upper broad lobe 25 and a lower communicating terminal recess 26. The recess 26 is preferably of such dimension and curvatures as to snugly receive the bar 20.

An interesting feature of the operation of the present device, is that although the bar 20 may retain the back 16 in either of two selected angular positions, with respect to the seat, in both instances the rod in its retaining position is seated within the confining recess 26 of the slot. The adjustment is provided by the relative angular position of links 22 with respect to their pintles. A further important feature of the present invention is that adjustment of the back to alter the angularity of the links may be automatically accomplished without direct manipulation of the rod or links. Thus, from a position shown as the full line position in FIGURE 3, if the back is tilted forwardly, the rod will emerge from the recess 26 past the intermediate restraining detent 2'7 to move up into the large lobe 25. Thereafter, a rearward movement of the seat permits the links to swing, with the rod moving in the lobe 25, until the rear position, shown by the dotted line, is reached, by which time the rod 20 has traveled downwardly to again be received within the recess 26. Similarly, when the back is in the reclining position, a forward tilting movement of the back will again cause the rod to emerge from the restricted recess 26 past the detent 27 to traverse the lobe 25, returning to its seat in the restricted portion when the back is in the more erect position shown by the full lines.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that not only is the seat latching mechanism simple, neat and artistically attractive, but further, this latching arrangement provides for an automatic adjustment of the angularity of the back without requiring manual manipulation of the securing mechanism.

It will, of course, be understood that the invention is not limited nor confined to the specific type of chair here illustrated, nor to the structural details of the latching mechanism. Thus, in the practice of the invention, numerous changes, modifications and the full use of equivalents may be resorted to without departure from the spirit or scope of the invention as outlined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A chair including a seat, a back hingedly mounted with respect to said seat, a supporting rod for sustaining said back in a plurality of hingedly adjusted positions with respect to said seat, and means for mounting said rod for arcuate movement, said means including pivot arms secured to said seat for pivotal movement with respect thereto to permit said rod to move in an arcuate path with respect to said seat and said back and a bracket on said back for receiving said rod to restrain the arcuate movement thereof.

2. A chair including a seat, a back hingedly mounted with respect to said seat, a supporting rod for sustaining said back in a plurality of hingedly adjusted positions with respect to said seat, and means for mounting said rod for arcuate movement with respect to said back, said means including pivot arms secured for pivotal movement to permit said rod to move in an arcuate path with respect to said seat and said back and a bracket on said back for receiving said rod to restrain the arcuate movement thereof, said bracket defining a receiving aperture characterized by a lobe permitting arcuate movement of said rod therein and a communicating restricted recess to engage said rod securing it against relative arcuate movement.

3. A chair including a seat, a back hingedly mounted with respect to said seat, a supporting rod for sustaining said back in a plurality of hingedly adjusted positions with respect to said seat, and means for mounting said rod for arcuate movement, said means including pivot arms secured for pivotal movement to permit said rod to move in an arcuate path with respect to said seat and said back and a bracket for receiving said rod to restrain the arcuate movement thereof, said bracket defining a receiving aperture characterized by a lobe permitting arcuate movement of said rod therein and a communicating restricted recess to engage said rod securing it against relative arcuate movement, together with an intermediate detent between said lobe and said recess.

4. A chair including a seat, a back hingedly mounted with respect to said seat, a supporting rod for sustaining said back in a plurality of hingedly adjusted positions with respect to said seat, and means for mounting said rod for arcuate movement, said means including pivot arms secured for pivotal movement to permit said rod to move in an arcuate path with respect to said seat and said back and a bracket for receiving said rod to restrain the arcuate movement thereof, said bracket defining a receiving aperture characterized by a lobe permitting arcuate movement of said rod therein and a communicating restricted recess to engage said rod securing it against relative arcuate movement, together with an intermediate detent between said lobe and said recess whereby pivotal movement of said back will disengage said rod from said recess and said detent will urge said rod in arcuate movement as the pivotal movement of said back continues.

5. A chair of the class defined including an upwardly tapering conical base, a downwardly tapering companion member mounted on said base and pivotally connected thereto, a molded U-shaped plywood seat secured to said downwardly tapering member, a curved plywood back hingedly secured to said seat, a supporting rod for sustaining said back in a plurality of hingedly adjusted positions with respect to said seat, and means for mounting said rod for arcuate movement, said means including pivot arms secured for pivotal movement to permit said rod to move in an arcuate path with respect to said seat and said back and a bracket for receiving said rod to restrain the arcuate movement thereof, said bracket defining a receiving aperture characterized by a lobe permitting arcuate movement of said rod therein and a communicating restricted recess to engage said rod securing it against relative arcuate movement, together with an intermediate detent between said lobe and said recess whereby pivotal movement of said back will disengage said rod from said recess and said detent will urge said rod in arcuate movement as the pivotal movement of said back continues.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 491,578 Mercer Feb. 14, 1893 1,611,432 Gladstone Dec. 21, 1926 1,654,726 Graham Jan. 3, 1928 2,085,836 Tatum July 6, 1937 2,379,975 Luger July 10, 1945 2,411,063 Scott Nov. 12, 1946 2,450,654 Gleitsman et a1. Oct. 5, 1948 2,745,468 Kramer May 15, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 163,833 Great Britain June 2, 1921 

